Runaway Robot

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Rory Rooney is unremarkable in almost everything, apart from his capacity to attract the attention of the school bully. But when he suddenly and spectacularly turns green, he becomes a superhero!

Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell Boyce, Steven Lenton

Alfie has had an accident, about which he can remember nothing. He does know that he can't return to school until he can manage to manipulate his new prosthetic hand, fitted at the Limb Lab. This is a world in which robots are present to help humans with many household and other chores. AI controlling lives in useful and humourous ways. Alfie's Mum talks to her cleaning robot and gets robot envy at other more sophisticated devices. Frank was asked by the Fleming Estate to write the official sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments

LoveReading4Kids Says

Confidently written with heart and humour, the unputdownable Runaway Robot will have children roaring with laughter and wanting a best friend robot of their own! - Armadillo Found that this was a difficult book to read. Wasn't overly gripping until the second half. Don't think I'd read aloud in the classroom as a lot of children would not be interested. But wouldn't mind having it in my classroom library for children who are particularly interested in robots. Education Shed Ltd, Severn House, Severn Bridge, Riverside North, Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK, DY12 1AB

Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell Boyce | Goodreads

Once readers have finished this, point them in the direction of Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s other books including The Astounding Broccoli Boy and books by Ross Welford. Peter Brown’s story The Wild Robot is another great automaton adventure. The history of robotics contained inside the story was also rather fascinating and my son had never even considered this side of a robot before, how old the technology might be. And to be honest, I learned something too. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

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You can find out a bit more about him and his Chitty Chitty Bang Bang triology at uk.chittyfliesagain.com While Alfie tries to hide Eric from his mother, from their robot vacuum, and from the town, eventually with help from the other kids from his special school, he starts to become more comfortable with his own disability, and eventually, he remembers what happened to him. It was really great to see a kid with a disability portrayed as not feeling sorry for himself, not mad at the world, although frustrated by his situation. His mother is really supportive, and while part of the message is that healing takes time, another part is that it can be good sometimes to focus on people (or robots) other than ourselves constantly. In this slightly futuristic England with little self-driving robots delivering pizza, Alfie learns that he can’t do everything by himself, and it’s okay to need help. And the message is delivered kindly, not didactically, and with humor. As ever from Cottrell Boyce, well-developed characters and an engaging storyline. Suitable for ages 8-12. We would recommend the audio version, a very easy listen with a narrator talented and children's and robots' voices.

Runaway Robot - Book Reviews

That’s ominous. What happened? There are two working theories. First: repulsed by a life of thankless servitude, the cleaner rose up against its fleshy oppressors and took to the streets, eager to drum up support for the AI uprising that will one day reduce all of humanity to burning dust. A very enjoyable Audible listen, my eight-year-old is still talking about it, weeks later. Wonderful to have heroes with artificial limbs as funny and real characters. Alfie is quite a lost and lonely soul. He is off school after an accident in which he lost both his hand and his confidence. He takes to taking the bus and hanging out in the arrivals lounge at the airport; although it does take some skills to avoid detection from the authorities. When one day his presence is challenged it leads to an encounter with Eric, a giant one-legged robot in need of a friend. Alfie makes the decision to bring him home with him but a ban on humanoid robots has just been passed, which means Alfie is breaking the law by sheltering Eric. Eric is problematic - he has excellent manners and is polite and courteous; however, he takes instructions literally and that causes a whole lot of problems. They make a charming pair as together they tryy to remember how they each lost their missing body part! Set in a future where the world is highly automated it is a novel which raises issues of humanity, machines and our future roles together. As our world gets closer and closer to a more automated future it is a timely novel for discussion of serious topics of artificial intelligence and science and what makes us human. Eric is 6 ft six, made of metal and loves to sing. He can answer any question (except the ones he doesn’t know the answer to) and will spit fire if something upsets him. And, like Alfie, Eric is missing a limb. Cottrell-Boyce writes with confidence and flair, spilling his story into the reader's head with artistry and comedy, so that readers are equally amused and enthralled, but also touched with a large brush of heart. He has a keen eye for human quirks, and seeing them play out both robotically as well as in humans, is rather fun. And Steven Lenton's illustrations create that extra dimension of humour. - Minerva Reads

Frank's imagining of this futuristic world where pizza ovens deliver your pizza and driverless buses is really brilliant. Strangely it feels like you could touch it, it's so close and yet in my mind it still feels like a lifetime away. For me that made the story feel more real and added to the warmth I felt about this compelling tale. The characterisation is genuinely brilliant and wonderfully diverse - BookLover Jo No matter how exciting, zany and surprising the action, you can always be sure that Frank Cottrell-Boyce will build his stories on real human emotions, and that’s as true of this brilliantly funny, original and touching novel as of any of its predecessors. Alfie ‘swerves’ both school and the Limb Lab, where he should be going to learn how to control his state-of-the-art new hand, by hanging out at the airport. But everything changes when, through various happy accidents, he finds an enormous robot called Eric in Lost Property. Eric holds the Allen key to the book’s mysteries, both a generations-old legend, and the secrets that Archie is keeping from the reader and himself. Beautifully told and full of characters readers will love, this book will have you laughing out loud one minute, in tears the next. Robot Eric, unfailingly polite, kind and helpful and trying to explain himself through misremembered jokes is an iron man for our time. Unmissable. Great. That is, unless this was nothing but the latest doomed-to-failure reconnaissance mission designed to help enhance the collective robot vacuum cleaner knowledge of how to dethrone humanity.

Literacy Shed Plus - Teaching Resources Made Easy

Being shortlisted for the Guardian Prize gives you a particularly warm glow because it is awarded by a panel of your fellow authors. Past winners include my childhood heroes - Alan Garner, Leon Garfield, Joan Aiken - and contemporary heroes like Mark Haddon, Geraldine McCaughrean and Meg Rosoff.” Storytelling at its snortingly-funny, hugely enjoyable and heartily-emotional best... a little bit warm and wise, a little bit tender and touching; there is a LOT to love about this book - The Reader Teacher When Alfie goes to Airport Lost Property, he finds more than he bargained for. A lot more. Because there's a giant robot called Eric hidden away on the shelves. Eric has lost one leg and half his memory. He's super strong, but super clumsy. He's convinced that he's the latest technology, when he's actually nearly one hundred year's old and ready for the scrap heap.With lots of funny scenes about a strong but oblivious robot causing mayhem, and a rather grand way about him that made us laugh, we really liked Eric. His stilted voice came over as very funny in the audiobook. And Alfie, with his detailed description of his missing arm, how he copes, his time with other similar children, made an appealing protagonist.